Church governance is the organizational structure and hierarchy of the church that guides its leadership, decision making, stewardship, role, and responsibilities. In some cases, the word “polity” is used but it tends more to organizational structure. In a Baptist Church, the ultimate authority is the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the Bible.

Christ has Lordship over his church with elders leading the local church. Per the Scriptures, elders are appointed to lead the local church as shepherds, pastors, teachers, and overseers. There is no biblical difference in elder, pastor, teacher, shepherd, and overseer. We would recommend that you study Attachment 3 in Recommendation A1 as it provides the Scripture references for the biblical principles of elder leadership.

An elder is an appointed position of leadership in the church, whose qualifications are Biblically-based, whose focus is on the spiritual health of the church, discipleship, mentorship, and oversight. They are responsible for the spiritual well-being of the church. Elders may be pastoral or lay. We would recommend that you study Attachment 3 in Recommendation A1 as it provides the Scripture references for the biblical principles of elder leadership.

A deacon is an appointed servant in the church, whose qualifications are Biblically-based, whose focus is to serve the physical and material needs of the church and its members. They serve the congregation and the elders. We would recommend that you study the Scripture references to deacons in Acts 6 and 1 Timothy 3.

Simply put, elders are given authority to lead the church with focus on spiritual needs and the deacons serve the church with focus on physical and material needs of the church. For the relationship between Elders and Deacons in our recommended governance model, see attachment 2 of Recommendation A1.

The role of elders is clearly defined in Scriptures as shepherds, pastors, teachers, and overseers. Within our recommended church governance model for Denver Baptist, the elder’s primary focus and majority of their time (80%+) would be on shepherding, pastoring, and teaching the church members. A much lower focus and amount of time would be allocated to overseeing the business affairs and operation of the church. We would recommend that you study Attachment 3 in Recommendation A1 as it provides the Scripture references for the biblical principles of elder leadership.

Christ is the head of the local church. The local church is autonomous and self-governing. A form of church governance where the entire church body has the final authority under God’s Word in major matters of doctrine (and by implication, choosing leaders, pastors), discipline (and by implication, choosing members), budget, and major financial matters. See definition of Congregational Governed in Recommendation A1.

Congregational, elder-led governance per a single-elder (Lead Pastor)

Per our study, Scriptures allow for both the single elder-led model and plurality of elders-led model. The Scriptures provide very sound direction on church governance. We believe the biblical references in Scriptures support that plurality of elders is the most sound governance model. We would recommend that you study Attachment 3 in Recommendation A1 as it provides the Scripture references for the biblical principles for plurality of elders.

The advantages and disadvantages of different biblical church governance models were studied and discussed in detail. The following are the primary reasons that the recommended governance model was deemed optimal for Denver Baptist. First, the Scriptures provide very sound direction on church governance. We believe the biblical references in Scriptures support that plurality of elders is the most sound governance model. Second, it shares the shepherding load across multiple elders. Shepherding a large church requires multiple elders (shepherds) to accomplish properly. Third, it improves accountability and decision making within church leadership. Fourth, it provides continuity of leadership when the lead pastor role is vacant or absent. There are many others reasons that were discussed.

Church-wide education sessions are planned to be conducted this fall for all members. More details will be coming on education sessions. However, the most current and detailed information will always be on our website. Plus, you can author a question and receive an answer as well as see all Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the same website.

Over time, some of the roles and responsibilities of the existing committees may be transferred to the Elder Leadership. Committees will be formed as deemed necessary and appropriate by the elders and bylaws. Committees will serve assigned specific tasks as directed by the elders and the bylaws. Committee structure and responsibilities within the Elder Leadership model will change to some degree. See definition of Committee Organized in attachment 3 of Recommendation A1.

The Scriptures provide very sound direction on church governance and we developed those into a biblical-based framework that describes our church governance recommendation. To build out the biblical-based framework into a full governance structure requires finalizing details not found in the Scriptures and these will be determined later. The following is a list of some key details that will need to be finalized: number of elders, mix of elders (pastoral staff vs lay members), relationship of lead pastor to elder board, who nominates initial elder candidates, who nominates future elder candidates, how does the elder vetting process work, etc.

The Scriptures provide very sound direction on church governance and we developed those into a biblical-based framework that describes our church governance recommendation. To build out the biblical-based framework into a full governance structure requires finalizing details not found in the Scriptures and these will be determined later. The Ad-hoc Committee’s work on Discipleship Path and Membership Expectations/Care have begun to be developed. The outcome of this work will provide the required insight on how the elder leadership should be structured around the biblical-based framework for DBC. Our expectation is that these details will not be finalized until the end of this year.

This is a major and critical issue for the future health of Denver Baptist. This decision should not be rushed and we must assure that the leaders and congregation have spent the appropriate amount of time in discussion, in prayer, and in the Scriptures while seeking The Lord’s will for Denver Baptist. Church-wide education sessions are planned for the fall of 2023. With that stated, we would not expect a formal vote on the bylaws change to occur before 2024.

To be determined. Some or all of the roles and responsibilities of the Church Council will be transferred to the Elder leadership. The exact details will need to be determined when the bylaw changes are established.

The details are to be finalized. The Lead Pastor will join our team as an additional full-time member or he will replace Pastor Patrick Lowman, a current full-time member. At a minimum, we expect his involvement and guidance.